


You're Putting Up Your Armor When You Leave (And You Leave Because You're Certain Of Who You Want To Be)

by BloodForTheBloodGod



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: And leaves his armor and shit behind, Baby appears, Becuase hes tired of fighting, Dream gets emotionally attched, Dream leaves, Gen, He gives Tommy the discs, He goes to live a peaceful life, Patches in a support animal, lol, patches - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-15 14:53:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29685651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BloodForTheBloodGod/pseuds/BloodForTheBloodGod
Summary: His legs dangled over the edge of the obsidian platform, staring down at the crater where L’Manburg had once been. He didn’t regret blowing it up, the country had been the source of most of the server’s problems, and it was for the best that it was gone. Which meant that he needed to get rid of the thing that caused the next most problems… which was himself. Dream wasn’t stupid, he knew that as long as he was around, there would be trouble. He would leave almost everything behind, items distributed amongst his former friends to make use of- he had no need for them anymore. Tommy’s discs were already waiting for the boy in his house, an unmarked chest sat in the center of the doorway. He’d emptied his base out, chests scattered in the different homes of the residents of the server, each filled to the brim with things he didn’t want to hold onto anymore.
Relationships: Cara | CaptainPuffy & Clay | Dream, Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF) & Everyone
Comments: 29
Kudos: 312





	You're Putting Up Your Armor When You Leave (And You Leave Because You're Certain Of Who You Want To Be)

His legs dangled over the edge of the obsidian platform, staring down at the crater where L’Manburg had once been. He didn’t regret blowing it up, the country had been the source of  _ most  _ of the server’s problems, and it was for the best that it was gone. Which meant that he needed to get rid of the thing that caused the next most problems… which was himself. Dream wasn’t  _ stupid _ , he knew that as long as he was around, there would be trouble. He would leave almost everything behind, items distributed amongst his former friends to make use of- he had no need for them anymore. Tommy’s discs were already waiting for the boy in his house, an unmarked chest sat in the center of the doorway. He’d emptied his base out, chests scattered in the different homes of the residents of the server, each filled to the brim with things he didn’t want to hold onto anymore.

On his journey to far lands, Dream made a stop at Techno’s house, and left behind his armor and his sword. For a moment he considered leaving behind his axe as well, but it was still a tool, and he wanted to be able fend off the mobs without his armor to protect him. He left behind no note- no indication that he was the one who left those gifts, though in some cases he would be the only reasonable assumption. Not that it really mattered, it was clearly that  _ no one  _ on the server was really his friend anymore, so even if they did know that he was leaving, they weren’t going to  _ follow _ . 

A sad smile made its way onto his face as he walked, pictures of his former friends celebrating his disappearance flashed through his head, each more vivid and realistic than the last. It was for the best, he’d been planning on leaving for some time now- but there were too many connections and attachments holding him back from taking off for good. But now? With everyone against him, finally united? It was the perfect opportunity, and Dream wasn’t about to let it slip through his fingers. 

So he clenched his hands into fists, shoved off the rising feeling of homesickness, and pushed forward. He had a  _ long  _ way to go if he wanted to reside in lands that had gone untouched… lands that his former friends would  _ never _ stumble upon.

_________________________________________________

He found the perfect spot to set up a base for himself, after nine days of walking. It had been a taxing journey, but as he gazed at the valley in front of him, he knew that this was exactly where he wanted to be. A forest covered one edge, but the other was nothing but flat land that was filled with animals- and it was  _ perfect _ . Dream made his way down, collecting some wood from the trees as he passed by, before he started hollowing out a section of the mountain side for himself to live in. It reminded him of the base he’d abandoned back in the SMP lands, but he couldn’t bring himself to change it- the fond memories he held in that base were too overwhelming to try and leave behind completely.

So he made his new base with a slight likeness to the old one, making changes as he went… It was strangely therapeutic in ways that Dream couldn't put into words. And he didn’t  _ need  _ to put it into words, there wasn’t anyone waiting for an answer out of him anymore… he was free from the prying and expecting eyes that constantly watched him- demanding explanations that Dream  _ couldn’t  _ offer because the words to express his feelings and thoughts simply didn’t exist. 

Within a couple of days, Dream had a fully set up base for himself. He’d corralled the animals into pens, taking care of them giving him a sense of purpose again. Crops grew along the far side of the valley, across from the patch of trees. It was peaceful, spending his days kneeling in the dirt, carefully working with the delicate plants and seeds, tending to each one to make the most of each harvest. Life was…  _ amazing  _ for him- he had reached an inner peace with himself that he hadn’t felt in  _ years _ . He felt like he was finally  _ doing  _ something with his life, rather than just spending his days fighting and collecting resources to make himself stronger. There was no rush to get things done, living in his little valley, only the slow flow of time that took him from one day to the next.

_________________________________________________

Techno was the first to know that something was going on with Dream- but the chest full of the other man’s armor and sword was a dead giveaway. He’d been out with Phil and Ranboo to gather supplies, which ended up being a trip that took  _ several  _ days. When they’d gotten home, the piglin hybrid had tripped over the chest shoved in front of his doorway on the inside, cursing loudly in surprise as he hit the ground. Phil watched in amusement, and Ranboo with slight concern as the man picked himself back up. “I think you have a package,” Phil teased, stepping around the chest to head further into the house, the teen behind him following quietly. Techno stuck his tongue out at the older man before huffing to himself, and opening the chest. 

“What the fu-” There, in  _ perfect condition _ , was Dream’s full armor set and sword. “Uh, Phil?” he called over his shoulder, and the man stepped back into view. “Come look at this,” he said, moving aside so Phil could peer into the chest and see for himself what had been left.

“Oh shit,” Phil straightened up, becoming more serious as he realized what he was looking at. “That’s Dream’s, isn’t it?” he asked, carefully lifting the armor out of the chest to inspect it. Ranboo peaked into the other room at Dream’s name, making a strange enderman sound at the sight of the chestplate Phil was holding.

Techno lifted the sword, testing the weight in his hand. “Yeah, it’s definitely  _ his _ , but why is it in a chest inside our house?” Techno asked, frowning to himself. “Either he left it here- which doesn’t  _ really  _ make any sense… or someone else got their hands on  _ Dream’s  _ things, and instead of keeping it for themselves, gave it to me… Which makes even  _ less  _ sense.” The three men stared at the armor and sword in silence for a few moments before Techno sighed heavily, and pulled out his communicator. “Suppose I can just  _ ask  _ him, huh?” He typed in a message and sent it Dream’s way, waiting patiently for the ‘delivered’ message to appear. Instead, a slowly spinning circle remained next to his message for a few seconds before letting him know that his message could not be sent. “Heh?” Phil looked over his shoulder at the message.

“Could not be delivered?” he muttered. “Okay- so Dream’s communicator is broken,” Phil noted. “So maybe someone  _ did _ get their hands on his armor and sword somehow… but there’s no death message for Dream so…” Phil huffed, and set down the chestplate so he could cross his arms. “Is there anyone living in the SMP who might know what’s going on?” 

Techno shrugged helplessly. “It’s not exactly like I’m not  _ good  _ terms with any of them- we did sorta  _ blow up a nation _ , Phil.” The older man hummed to himself. Neither of them knew what to make of the situation, and without anyone they could reach out to in the SMP, they were at a loss for what to do.

_________________________________________________

The second person who realized that something was up with Dream was Tommy, the teen staring at the discs sitting at the bottom of the chest with wide eyes. Tubbo, who’d been trailing slowly behind him, rushed to his side as the boy just started to  _ scream _ . “Tommy what-” The taller teen whirled around, his two precious discs in hand. Tubbo’s eyes went wide at the sight, breath catching in his throat. “Are those…” 

“Yeah!” Tommy grinned, clinging to the records like they might disappear if he let them out of his sight for even a second. “They’re the  _ real  _ one this time! I’ve got my discs back!” 

“But… how?” Tubbo asked quietly, and Tommy settled for a moment as it dawned on him that the only way he could have the discs was if Dream had left them at his house. “Dream had both of them- and it’s not like him to be careless enough to leave them lying around. Which means that he  _ must  _ have left them here.” 

The two teens stood in silence for a moment before Tommy cracked a nervous smile. “Well- who cares, right? The green bastard is nowhere to be seen, and I’ve got the  _ real  _ discs back.” He placed them delicately into his ender chest for safekeeping before turning back to his older friend. “I don’t really care what led to them being returned to me- all I know is that I have them, and I’m never letting them get taken from me again.” 

“I guess,” Tubbo agreed, shifting uncomfortably. He looked around, tense, as if waiting for Dream to suddenly appear and attack them. But the attack never came, and the two teens were able to go about the rest of their day in peace- Tommy finding every single opportunity to bring up his returned discs to  _ every single person  _ they ran into. A few were skeptical, and asked about Dream, but mostly everyone congratulated them for getting the prized possessions back.

_________________________________________________

One by one, the residents of the SMP lands started stepping forward, each presenting a strange thing they had discovered in their home, or on their doorstep. Chests filled with precious goods and valuables, none accompanied with any note to indicate who it was that had left behind these gifts. Though, when everyone was coming forward, and no one was taking credit, it became painfully clear just  _ who  _ had left these things behind.

“It just doesn’t make any sense,” Puffy said, arms crossed. She sat upon her personalized chest, feelings conflicting. “It’s not  _ like  _ Dream to  _ blow up a nation _ , and then leave  _ all  _ his items behind for us to take- not to mention that  _ no one  _ can find him  _ anywhere _ . He’s just…  _ gone _ .” The woman huffed, and let her arms fall to wrap around her knees, which she pulled into her chest. “And it’s not  _ just  _ valuables and goods- Tommy got his  _ discs _ back!” Gazes shifted over to Tommy, and the teen shifted uncomfortably.

“None of our messages to him will go through,” Sapnap said, calling attention to himself. “So he’s likely destroyed his communicator, and his entire base was cleared out. There wasn’t a single block or item left inside. However- there are also no  _ death  _ messages for him, which means that unless someone managed to knock him out and steal all his things, he  _ intentionally  _ left all of this stuff behind…” He paused for a moment. “No- actually that is the only thing that could have happened, because the discs were in his e-chest.” 

The gathered group fell silent, unsure of what to do with the information they were being presented with. Then, it was broken by a not-so-welcome visitor. “So I take it none of you know what’s going on either, then?” All heads turned sharply, attention once again shifted, this time onto Philza. Techno and Ranboo stood behind him, both looking slightly uncomfortable.

“What the hell do you mean- what are you doing here?!” Quackity snapped, jumping to his feet. Phil rolled his eyes, and opened his inventory.

“We got a gift the other day from Dream, and we were hoping that maybe one of you would know what was going on,” he said, and from his inventory he pulled out Dream’s chestplate. Sapnap and George both made strangled noises at the sight of it. “His entire set of armor, and his sword, were left in a chest in  _ perfect  _ condition for Techno.” 

Sapnap jumped to his feet. “He left his armor with  _ you _ ?!” he demanded to know, hands curled into fists. You could never get the man to admit it, but knowing that his best friend from  _ childhood  _ had left his most precious armor and sword with  _ Technoblade  _ of all people- it  _ hurt _ . Techno lifted a shoulder casually, and it took every ounce of Sapnap’s self restraint not to deck the guy.

“So he’s left his armor, sword, and  _ all  _ his valuables behind-” Sam summarized. “And we have  _ no clue  _ where he’s run off to? He’s just… disappeared without a word to anyone, and we can’t even send messages to his communicator- correct?” Everyone nodded. “Well isn’t that lovely,” Sam pinched the bridge of his nose, looking unbelievably stressed.

“Well,” Niki spoke up quietly. “Is it really something we  _ need  _ to worry about?” They turned to look at her, and she flushed under the attention. “Dream’s the  _ villain _ … remember? If we have all his things… What's the problem? And if he’s up and left, that’s even better isn’t it?” She was met with silence. “I mean- don’t even try to deny it- I’ve heard the things some of you have said about him. You don’t  _ like  _ him, you’ve been praying for his downfall and death for… a  _ long  _ time now, this is what you’ve been waiting for, isn’t it? I get that it’s a big deal, but it’s not really a  _ problem _ , is it?”

She wasn’t  _ wrong _ , the people of the server had been planning ways to kill the man for ages now, but now that he was gone and they had supposedly won- all of his things now theirs- it all felt… off. This wasn’t the spectacular ending that they had been envisioning, they had been expecting a huge final battle against the most powerful man around, where they would finally overpower and kill him, putting an end to his villainy. But now they were presented with this anticlimactic turn of events where they had won, and they had almost  _ all  _ the man’s things, and it felt hollow. Like they didn’t  _ earn  _ it- which, technically, they  _ hadn’t _ . 

They had just been handed everything they wanted, and the first thing they thought to do was… find Dream and… and what? What would they do? The man was unarmed-  _ intentionally _ . They had all the power over him- would they just kill him? Would they demand answers? Would they even  _ find  _ him? There were so many possibilities that none of them had considered, and now they were left to sort through new feelings that were coming to the surface knowing that Dream was  _ gone _ .

_________________________________________________

A soft meow caught his attention, while Dream was carefully harvesting pumpkins. He looked up, and spotted a small kitten tangled in the vines. He smiled softly, and stood, moving over to cut the animal free. It meowed at him softly, voice as tiny as it was, and bumped it’s head into his knee. “Hi,” he greeted it, and the kitten meowed back, as if greeting him in return. Carefully, making sure that it was comfortable with him, Dream lifted the kitten up. “Hey girl,” he said, standing up. “What’re you doing?” She meowed at him, purring happily as he scratched between her ears. A warm feeling flooded his chest, and Dream happily carried her with him for the rest of his morning chores. “Do you want some fish… you need a name, huh?” he asked her rhetorically as he looked through his chests. She was sat on top of his anvil, and meowed after everything he said to her.

“How about…” Dream trailed off for a moment, before smiling. “Patches?” he looked to her, and she meowed back at him, flicking her ears. “Patches it is then- here.” He set a plate of salmon in front of the kitten, petting her lightly while she ate. In the back of his mind he started making a checklist of things that he would need to take care of and raise the kitten by himself- and for a brief moment he was hit with the thought of ‘I can’t let Sapnap know’. A wave of emotions hit him instantly, he hadn’t thought about his friends he’d left behind in  _ days _ , and suddenly he had the overwhelming urge to cry.

He  _ missed  _ them, he  _ missed  _ them so much. It was like there was a hole pierced through him that only they could fill, and without them he wasn’t  _ complete _ . Tears pooled in his eyes, and his petting slowed to a stop. He wanted to see them again, wanted to go back to times before Tommy had joined the server- before the wars and destruction that had taken over his server and ruined his friendships. Patches meowed softly at him, nudging her face up against his. Dream smiled sadly at her, and very gently wrapped his arms around her in a makeshift hug. He hadn’t had a hug in a  _ long time _ , the man so touch starved that the slightest of physical contact left him a mess internally.

But... now he didn’t  _ have  _ to internalize it- there was no one here who could use his emotions against him. So he hid his face in Patches’ fur, and sobbed. She licked at his hair, purring comfortingly, and the two of them stood there for several minutes. His body trembled as he cried, the feeling of vulnerability tearing him apart.

  
  


_________________________________________________

There was a lot of new found freedom in being able to express his emotions outwardly, Dream had discovered. He didn’t have to pretend that things didn’t hurt or upset him anymore, because there wasn’t anyone around to watch his every move, waiting for a moment of weakness to strike. It was just him and Patches- and the cat was more than happy to comfort him at any given point where he felt vulnerable. It reminded him of Puffy, in some ways, with Patches attempting to act like his mother. She took care of him just as much as he took care of her- and it was nice to have that kind of relationship again… even if it was with a kitten rather than another person. 

He would have been embarrassed with how emotionally attached he’d become to Patches, but every time he felt flustered, he was quickly reminded that he was alone. And then the moment was over, and he felt comfortable with himself again. Living in the valley had given him that back, the feeling of being comfortable. His stiffened posture relaxed, and he felt… soft. It was a weird feeling, but he  _ liked  _ it. It made him feel human again.

_________________________________________________

Dream had been missing for almost a month, and the inhabitants were starting to get restless. At first some of them had agreed that it was cause for celebration, but now that more time had passed, people were starting to get nervous. Even if they didn’t  _ like  _ Dream, he was still the  _ admin  _ of the server, and he was responsible for it’s upkeep. So it was a little concerning that they couldn’t reach the man- at best they could pray that he was still doing his job from wherever he was. 

Which, some of them would only admit to themselves, they wanted him to come back. They hadn’t realized how much they enjoyed his presence, how much they loved his little wheezing laugh, until it was gone, and now there was an empty space in the SMP that they wanted to be filled again. 

Dream plagued their every thought, and forced them to really reflect on all their memories with the man. It left many of them feeling hollow, because now that he man was gone, they had come face to face with how many consequences were pushed off onto Dream- and how that might be the reason that he left. They had taken things too far- pushed the man to his breaking point and now he was gone before any of them could learn their lesson and apologize for what they had done. Maybe it was too late for that, because Dream very well might not  _ accept  _ their apologies. He was well within his rights to turn them away, after what they had done. But still, at the very least, they wanted him to come back. Even if he  _ hated  _ them- even if he refused to talk with them, at least he’d be  _ home _ . 

So when it became too overwhelming, and many of them were plagued with guilt, they agreed to go out searching for the man. Though, they weren’t really sure where to get started. They didn’t know how  _ far  _ the man had gone, or in what direction. Then, George called something to their attention.

“During the manhunts, we have a compass that points to Dream at all times,” he said, opening up the code. He didn’t have the full access that Dream did, but he would still be able to make some changes that would hopefully be able to help them find him. It took a little while, trying to remember how to replicate the code that existed in the other servers- but it ended up working  _ perfectly _ , the needle of the compass swinging around to point west.

They had agreed that it would be for the best if only a handful of them went on the hunt- as not to overwhelm Dream, or make him think that it was an attack. George, Sapnap, Bad, and Ant were the ones who led the way, Tommy, Punz, and Puffy following after. The four of them had years of experience hunting down Dream, so it came as no surprise that they were the ones selected to lead the mission.

_________________________________________________

The group traveled for almost ten days when they finally found the valley that Dream was living in. They spotted the man right away, his bright green hoodie being a dead giveaway. He was knelt in the middle of a patch of wheat, back turned to them. Sapnap, who was the first to make it over the ridge, felt his breath catch in his throat. Dream was  _ right there _ \- he was finally within reach. George came up next to him, and nearly sobbed at the sight. They were finally gonna be with him again, the  _ Dream Team  _ was going to be united.

Carefully the group made their way down the valley, slowly approaching. Sapnap sucked in a breath, and cautiously called out, “Dream?” The other man’s head jerked around, eyes wide, as he came face to face with the small group of people. His mask was long gone, face left bare for them to see- some for the first time. Sapnap swallowed nervously. “Hey, Dream,” he greeted quietly, raising his hand in greeting. Dream was on his feet in an instant, slowly backing away, trampling some of his crops. Now that he was fully facing the group, they could see that there was a kitten tucked in the front pocket of his hoodie, which one of his hands dropped down to, supporting the animal’s weight.

“Sapnap,” he greeted back nervously, eyes jumping around the area. He was looking for an escape route, Sapnap realized faintly. Then, that same thought fully hit him as if he’d been run over by a horse. Dream was  _ scared _ \- desperately looking for the best way to escape from the group of people. “Why… why are you here?”

George stepped forward, standing by Sapnap’s side. “We came looking for you,” he said, lifting the compass in his hand so Dream could see. The blonde flinched at the sight of it. “We were worried about you,” George said. “You just… disappeared on us without a word, and you destroyed your communicator so we couldn’t even reach out to you.” Dream shifted uncomfortably, and George sighed softly. “Dream… what… why did you leave? And why did you leave behind almost  _ all  _ of your things?”

Dream shrugged awkwardly. “L’Manburg was one of the biggest sources of problems on the server… and I am the other one.” He gave them a weak smile. “I got rid of one, and then got rid of the other… you know? I just- I just wanted the server to be one big happy family- and that can’t exist if I’m around.” Puffy’s throat went dry at the words, feeling lightheaded. Her little duckling… He didn’t think he could be a part of the family?

Punz had  _ known  _ that was Dream’s goal- but hearing him say it out loud? In this context? His heart  _ hurt _ for his little brother, knowing that despite how long Dream had been around- been  _ friends  _ with them- he still didn’t believe that he was a part of the family. “Dream…  _ no _ ,” Puffy said, stepping forward. Dream made a small noise, but she continued. “Baby, that… that’s not how people  _ work _ \- the conflict and problems aren't just gonna disappear, duckling.”

“But-” Dream hesitated for a moment, looking unsure of himself. “But  _ I’m  _ the villain of the story- and if  _ I’m  _ not around to cause problems… then there won’t  _ be  _ problems, you know?”

“Oh sweetie-” Puffy stepped forward again, and dragged Dream into a hug. “Honey, no, you aren’t- you’re not the  _ villain  _ of any story- you’ve just… done some bad things, but so has almost everyone else on this server.” She pressed kisses to the side of his head as she talked. “I’m sorry that you’ve been put in a position where you believe that you’ve been  _ the villain  _ of the story- but that’s just not true, duckling.” 

Dream broke down, hands raising up to cling to his mother. He cried into her chest, and she continued to press kisses to the side of his head, shushing him quietly. The others watched on silently, unsure of what to do, so they just let Puffy be there for her son. They rocked together, back and forth, and finally, for the first time in years, Dream allowed himself to show his emotions to another person.

**Author's Note:**

> Twitter:  
> @PlayNiceOrDie 
> 
> Tumblr:  
> PlayNiceOrDie 
> 
> Instagram:  
> FrayzedAndDazed


End file.
